seCURINg THe HIgH gROUND: DOMINANT COMBAT AIRpOWeR …€¦ · The purposeful development and care of our Airmen ... trained, and manned for optimum operational capability. Anything

2012 AIR COMBAT COMMAND sTRATegIC plAN

seCURINg THe HIgH gROUND: DOMINANT COMBAT AIRpOWeR FOR AMeRICA







FOREWORD

Since the dawn of military warfare, commanders at all levels have sought to optimize their combat capability within the resources available to them. Our situation is no different today. Air Combat Command (ACC) must continue to provide dominant combat airpower for America; and we must do it in an era of declining fiscal resources. Advancing our proud heritage of providing combat airpower will require a delicate balance of preserving our current capability while we prepare to meet the challenges of the future.

The 2012 Air Combat Command Strategic Plan is my guidance for the management and development of the capabilities required to secure the high ground for our military forces and deliver dominant combat airpower for our Nation. This strategic guidance reflects my priorities and is informed by a wide range of national and service-level guidance. It is intended to focus ACC’s resources on the missions and capabilities that are most relevant to delivering combat airpower in support of national interests now and in the future. Underpinning ACC’s ability to deliver dominant combat airpower are the men and women of ACC who serve our great Nation. The purposeful development and care of our Airmen and their families is one of my top priorities and the cornerstone upon which the future success of this command rests.

As the Commander, I am humbled and honored to lead Air Combat Command’s efforts to organize, train, and equip combat-ready forces for rapid deployment and employment of combat airpower while ensuring our forces are ready to meet the challenges of peacetime air sovereignty and wartime defense of our homeland. Our success at performing these tasks will be marked by the robustness of the forces that remain after we adjust to the new budget and the difficult fiscal environment that confronts us. My bond with you is a steadfast commitment of ensuring that all remaining ACC forces are resourced, trained, and manned for optimum operational capability. Anything less is unacceptable.

Ensuring the continued success of this command requires leadership and balance within my duties and responsibilities as both the commander of the Air Force’s largest major command (MAJCOM) and as the Core Function Lead Integrator (CFLI) for five of the 12 Air Force Core Functions. These “dual-hatted” responsibilities will at times require different organizational perspectives and processes; but they are unified in purpose. We must, and I have full confidence that we will, continue ACC’s magnificent record of achievement and excellence in securing the high ground and delivering dominant combat airpower for America.

Thank you for your service to our Nation and all that you do for Air Combat Command.

GILMARY M. HOSTAGE IIIGeneral, United States Air ForceCommander, Air Combat Command

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Foreword .................................................................................................................. i

Purpose .................................................................................................................. 1

Strategic Environment ............................................................................................. 3

ACC Vision and Mission .......................................................................................... 5

ACC Focus Areas and Priorities ................................................................................. 6

Leadership in Combat Airpower ............................................................................. 7

Excellence in Combat Airpower .............................................................................. 7

Partnerships in Combat Airpower ........................................................................... 9

COMACC’s Role as Core Function Lead Integrator ...................................................... 11

CFLI Vision ........................................................................................................ 12

CFLI Strategic Guidance ...................................................................................... 12

Force Capability - Recapitalization & Modernization ............................................... 12

Force Capacity - Sustainment & Readiness ........................................................... 14

Force Composition - Total Force Enterprise (TFE) & Total Force Integration (TFI) ....... 15

Summary .............................................................................................................. 16

Acronyms .............................................................................................................. 18

“We can no longer afford expensive, incremental development of slowly evolving capabilities. We must revive the AF visionary culture, focus on realizing game-changing capabilities, make decisions and commitments to invest in the development of selected future game changers, and take calculated risks to ensure America’s asymmetric warfighting advantage.”

Gen. Mike Hostage, ACC Commander

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PURPOSE

Securing the High Ground articulates the guiding principles and foundational ideas for providing America with dominant combat airpower within the context of the current strategic and fiscal environments. This document is organized to accomplish two main objectives:

1. Provide Air Combat Command Commander’s (COMACC) guidance to optimally organize, train, and equip combat ready forces for America.

2. Provide CFLI strategic guidance for the stewardship and maturation of five Service Core Functions (SCFs).

The roles and responsibilities of the CFLI often transcend Air Combat Command’s purview and the line of demarcation is not always readily apparent. While Securing the High Ground captures the distinction between the leadership of a MAJCOM and the management of SCFs, it also emphasizes the need for all Airmen to work with the unified purpose of providing Joint Force Commanders (JFCs) a wide range of combat capabilities—from kinetic to non-kinetic, lethal to non-lethal—for use in accordance with policy guidance, to create effects and set conditions that support Joint force objectives and the national military strategy.

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An F-16 pilot launches an AGM-88 high speed anti-radiation missile.




seCURINg THe HIgH gROUND: DOMINANT COMBAT AIRpOWeR FOR AMeRICA 2

From the MAJCOM perspective, Securing the High Ground is the link that connects National, Department of Defense, Joint Staff, and Air Force strategic guidance with ACC operations. It works within the current budget realities and is deliberately focused to guard against becoming a hollow force; characterized by declining readiness, decreasing proficiency, or lack of effective and sustainable mission capability. ACC will work to ensure the inevitably smaller force that emerges in the coming years is highly capable, adequately resourced, and ready to meet JFC requirements.

From the SCF perspective, Securing the High Ground provides the strategic context and guidance necessary to shape ACC and CFLI planning, programming, requirements, and science and technology (S&T) priorities. These critical inputs ensure that our contributions to the Air Force Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) and Requirements, Acquisition, and Test (RAT) processes are comprehensive and balanced.

Securing the High Ground is a capstone document that frames the ACC mission and the SCF construct. When cross-referenced with the Core Function Master Plans (CFMPs), Securing the High Ground is the articulation of an innovative strategy where ends, ways, and means are appropriately linked to achieve our ultimate goal—to deliver dominant combat airpower for America through the Joint force.

Airmen prepare to detonate old 120-mm mortar rounds.




seCURINg THe HIgH gROUND: DOMINANT COMBAT AIRpOWeR FOR AMeRICA3

STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTThe US national debt and corresponding fiscal repercussions are a significant threat to our national security. More than two decades of sustained global engagement and combat operations have imposed tremendous stress on our service members and equipment. At the same time, the economic means the US relies upon to underwrite our global security posture are becoming increasingly constrained and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Therefore, the context in which past decisions were made has changed, and we must make current and future decisions within the realities of our present fiscal environment.

In addition to the challenging domestic fiscal environment, the 21st Century international security environment presents a dynamic landscape of strategic and operational challenges that cut across the entire spectrum of conflict. These challenges are recognized and expounded upon in various key national and service-level documents. For the Air Force, the Strategic Planning 2010-2030 Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) provides a common baseline regarding how the future strategic environment will impact the size, composition, and capabilities of our air, space, and cyberspace forces over the next 20 years. It concisely articulates future global and international trends most relevant to United States Air Force (USAF) strategic planning and provides a synthesized, credible assessment of the future strategic environment providing Air Force planners with better opportunities to mitigate operational risk in the years ahead.

The SEA describes how the confluence of a broad set of future global trends—such as accelerating globalization, natural resource competition, shifting demographics, and increased information flow, combined with the relative rise of new geographic spheres of power and influence—potentially pose significant implications for the defense of America and the USAF. While not all

An F-35A Lightning II taxis down the flightline.





inclusive, these implications provide multiple lenses for viewing both challenges to, and opportunities for, future USAF plans and operations. The implications, as summarized in the SEA, are broadly categorized as follows:

• Potential adversaries (to include non-state actors) are acquiring or developing the means to challenge the US Military and threaten the US Homeland

• The demand for certain types of operations (especially those associated with irregular warfare, humanitarian operations, special operations, information gathering, and urban operations) will likely increase in frequency or importance

• Effective deterrence is expected to become more challenging for the United States

• Future energy costs are expected to rise

• New technology opportunities to exploit

Although we cannot predict with certainty the time, location, or circumstance in which US policy-makers will call for the use of military power, we must be prepared to respond across the spectrum of conflict to meet the full range of security challenges. The USAF will remain globally engaged and the world-wide demand for ACC’s distinctive capabilities will continue to increase across the range of military operations. From potential high-end major combat operations against near-peer competitors to low-end military engagements or security force assistance actions against insurgent or terrorist elements, ACC must be ready to leverage the unique characteristics of airpower—speed, range, flexibility, and lethality—to create precise combat effects that can be appropriately scaled and tailored to meet the needs of our forces and commanders around the world.

In spite of the dynamic fiscal and security environments, ACC will continue to posture our force to remain highly capable and ready to meet any challenge. As the demand for ACC’s combat capabilities, resources, and manpower continues to increase, we must remain flexible and adaptable as an organization and establish an underlying culture that remains optimistic and seeks opportunity out of austerity. The size of our force will likely be reduced to levels we are not accustomed to, which may result in fewer resources available to accomplish fewer tasks, in fewer places, in any given period of time. However, we will remain focused on improving the readiness and operational effectiveness of the forces we retain to preserve our ability to provide dominant combat airpower across the entire range of military operations.





ACC VISION and MISSIONOur success as a smaller, highly capable, and ready force depends upon the solidarity and determination of all Airmen within this command. Our Airmen remain the foundation for delivering combat airpower. Their flexibility and ingenuity, honed through comprehensive training, combined with their indelible warrior spirit, enable ACC to generate the warfighting capability, capacity, and readiness necessary to successfully meet US national security demands.

• VISION – Warrior Airmen, committed to excellence, trained and ready to fly, fight, and win…anytime, anyplace

• MISSION – Dominant Combat Airpower for America

• ACC organizes, trains, and equips combat-ready forces to provide dominant combat airpower in support of national security strategy implementation

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Our Airmen remain the foundation for delivering combat airpower.

The ACC Strategic Plan is one vehicle by which we translate our vision into the fielded combat capabilities required to

execute our mission—Dominant Combat Airpower.

Airmen stand at parade rest.





ACC FOCUS AREAS and PRIORITIES

Securing the High Ground is ACC’s guide to ensure our vision is realized, our mission is accomplished, and we remain an integral part of the Nation’s asymmetric advantage of full spectrum response and force application options. It is a plan that focuses on supporting the warfighter and winning today’s fight, while also planning for future challenges. Securing the High Ground is tightly nested under the Air Force’s broader strategy focused on balance—balance among our core functions, balance among our Active Duty, Reserve, and Air National Guard components, and balance across our investment and resourcing strategies—to provide combat capability through effectively and efficiently sizing, organizing, training, and equipping our force.

To ensure we remain agile, innovative, and properly postured to respond to the security demands of today and tomorrow, the Secretary of the Air Force (SecAF) and Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF) set a flight path for the Service with five overarching priorities. Their vector is clear and we will remain committed to do our part in achieving continued progress in the following areas:

• Continue to strengthen the Air Force nuclear enterprise

• Partner with the Joint and Coalition team to win today’s fight

• Develop and care for Airmen and their families

• Modernize our air and space inventories, organizations, and training

• Recapture acquisition excellence

A key factor to the success of our strategy is evolving and preserving the culture and mindset required to provide dominant combat airpower irrespective of today’s complex strategic environment and intense fiscal challenges. Our power stems from our warrior Airmen who are committed, trained, and ready to deliver unmatched capabilities and produce effects anywhere, anytime. From such a position of strength, we offer Combatant Commanders (CCDRs) a wide array of capabilities to deter, dissuade, and if necessary, defeat aggressors and potential adversaries at a time and place of our choosing.

To ensure our collective efforts are aimed directly at achieving and maintaining dominant combat airpower for America, the following focus areas of Leadership, Excellence, and Partnerships in Combat Airpower provide ACC Airmen at all levels a framework that outlines the command’s priorities.

“Out of the assessment we developed a defense strategy that transitions our Defense enterprise from an emphasis on today’s wars to preparing for future challenges.”

-Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense, January 2012

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Dominant Combat Airpower: - Leadership - Excellence - Partnerships





ACC FOCUS AREA: Leadership in Combat AirpowerRetaining the ability to provide dominant combat airpower requires a delicate and harmonious balance between the needs of organizing, training, equipping, sustaining, and employing the force of today with the goals of improving, modernizing, and recapitalizing the force for tomorrow. More than 20 years of continuous combat operations have left us to deal with significant challenges in manpower, equipment, and training and have driven total force readiness down to unacceptable levels. Leadership in combat airpower requires deliberate actions, with specific emphasis on readiness issues, to ensure we preserve and enhance the people, training, and equipment needed to remain combat effective and guard against becoming a hollow force.

Ultimately, recapitalization and modernization are about choices. It is about choosing what we want our force to look like and what we want our force to do given the resources available. We cannot simply buy our way out of our problems or shortfalls as we have been able to do in the past, and we certainly cannot afford to have exquisite capabilities in every mission area. Instead, we must make tough choices between what we truly require to maintain our qualitative edge, and what we merely desire. Delivering dominant combat airpower requires a balanced, flexible portfolio of capability, capacity, and readiness. Our clear and decisive leadership in these efforts is paramount.

As a Nation and as a Service, we face difficult decisions that will shape the force projection and force application options available to our future commanders. Leadership in combat airpower requires developing new and innovative ways to use legacy systems, as well as modernizing and integrating select legacy systems to enhance the capability of our new systems. At the same time, leadership in combat airpower inspires a visionary culture, which recognizes the need to take calculated risks by reducing levels of modernization in some areas in order to pursue new game-changing capabilities that are required to ensure America’s warfighting advantage.

At the end of the day, our success as a command rests on the quality of combat airpower we provide to the CCDRs charged with protecting and advancing our national interests at home and abroad. We will be judged on our ability to meet their requirements and we will succeed on their metrics—not ours alone. Therefore, we will ensure we continue to possess a dominant suite of capabilities to meet CCDR requirements and taskings to the highest level possible within the constraints and realities of the current fiscal environment.

ACC FOCUS AREA: Excellence in Combat AirpowerOur ability to respond to the challenges of the international security environment and to meet our fiscal reduction obligations is directly linked to the pursuit of excellence in every effort, by every Airman, in every organization throughout the command.

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Develop, retain, and care for innovative, motivated, combat-focused Airmen and their families

Balance recapitalization and modernization within given resources

An F-15 Eagle banks left while an F-22 Raptor flies in formation.





Our Nation expects us to prevent, deter, and defend against aggression aimed at America, and when called upon, to secure victory regardless of the type of conflict. The ultimate source of this combat capability lies with the men and women of Air Combat Command who are the most sophisticated and precious resource we possess. They are irreplaceable, and an integral component to the successful outcome of any future operation. Our sacred bond to our Airmen is ensuring they are provided the proper equipment, training, and skills required to achieve success in the missions our Nation has asked them to accomplish. It is not only a fundamental priority; it is the right thing to do. Our goal is to create an environment that enables our Airmen to achieve their full potential and provides them a sense of dignity and gratification for their selfless service to our Nation. Therefore, we will continue to focus on rebalancing and preserving programs that promote resiliency and provide deliberate Airmen development. Similarly, we will continue efforts to improve the care of our Airmen’s families by providing family support systems all the way down to the unit level that remain proactive and responsive—especially for the families of our deployed Airmen. We recruit Airmen, but we retain families.

In addition to taking care of our Airmen and their families, we will continue to tailor organizations, processes, and infrastructure at all levels to quickly adapt and respond to the constantly evolving security environment. First and foremost, we must maintain our focus on current operations to ensure we succeed in today’s fight. As more and more of our Airmen rotate through the current theaters of operation, we will continue to draw upon their broad experience and critical skill-sets to further improve our education and training. Their experience, innovation, and insights underwrite the Air Force’s “All In” contribution to winning the current fight.

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Similarly, we will continue efforts to improve the care of our Airmen’s families by providing family support systems all the way down to the unit level that remain proactive and responsive—especially for the families of our deployed Airmen. We recruit Airmen, but we retain families.





Based on current US defense strategic guidance, excellence in combat airpower requires enhancing our ability to operate successfully in degraded and highly-contested environments against advanced threats. In the 1990s, the world watched the USAF destroy a sophisticated integrated air defense system and dominate the air domain. Our potential adversaries took notice and adapted their strategies by increasing their development and procurement of advanced surface-to-air missiles, 4th-Generation (Gen) aircraft, and other capabilities to counter advantages the USAF realized during Operation DESERT STORM. In the years that followed, our successful exploitation of permissive operating environments gave us a false sense of security in the long-term effectiveness of our tactics, training, and technological capabilities.

Excellence in combat airpower requires an ability to operate across the entire spectrum of conflict in order to gain and maintain domain superiority. Potential adversaries continue to acquire and develop anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) capabilities and strategies that challenge our ability to assure access to, and freedom of movement within, critical domains and areas of operation. Therefore, we must take aggressive steps to further analyze, simulate, and most importantly, train in this environment to discern and assess potential risks to future operations. The effort begins with wing-level training, which is augmented by distributed mission operations and advanced simulators, rehearsed during large force employment exercises such as RED FLAG, and validated through operational readiness inspections. As we begin to shift our focus away from the emphasis on today’s wars and prepare for the challenges that lie ahead, we will only be successful once we shift from a mindset of assuming air superiority is a given, to a culture where we can fly, fight, and win in degraded and highly-contested environments.

Projecting our power through expeditionary operations is fundamental to our mission of providing dominant combat airpower for America. ACC will lead by example in implementing changes to the current Air and Space Expeditionary Forces (AEF) construct as the USAF identifies ways to evolve the current expeditionary concept of operations and force presentation models to provide JFCs right-sized, capability-based teams to support evolving mission requirements.

Excellence in combat airpower is what we do everyday—stay the course! Whether our Airmen are asked to employ, maintain, train, or support ACC’s mission to deliver dominant combat airpower, each individual is critical to our success. We must strive to be the best at what we do, inspire the best from those around us, and together we will confidently move forward with strength of mind and purpose.

ACC FOCUS AREA: Partnerships in Combat AirpowerAs ACC maintains a global posture, enabled by our Air Force’s expeditionary power projection capability, we must continue to strengthen the collaborative efforts within our Service and beyond. We must cultivate stronger partnerships with our Joint, Allied, and Coalition teams to capitalize on the synergistic effects of our pooled manpower and resources in providing timely, comprehensive, and appropriately scaled combat airpower. We can no longer afford duplicative efforts in any endeavor. Partnerships in combat airpower require deliberate steps to ensure we retain or develop the requisite interoperability and compatibility within our own service, as well as between sister services and partner nations. These are not only the materiel solutions represented in the development of networked capabilities for enhanced situational awareness and execution of effects chains, but also represented in planning, resourcing, requirements, and training solutions as well.

Excellence in combat airpower is what we do everyday—stay the course!

An F-16 pilot with the 77th Fighter Squadron conducts pre-flight checks.

Focus organizations, training, and education to improve combat capability for current and future operations across the entire spectrum of conflict





Dealing with the fiscal realities of today will require a smaller, highly capable, and ready force for the future. Because we are smaller, the need for strong partnerships has never been greater. In addition to improving our capabilities through the compatibility and interoperability of USAF and Joint systems, ACC’s mission is enhanced through our participation in a host of activities related to Building Partner Capacity (BPC). The ACC-BPC relationship is best described as one of reciprocity, particularly in a fiscally constrained environment, where the capability and capacity contributions of participating nations are especially crucial.

Partnerships in combat airpower provide the maneuver space necessary to enhance the overall combat power of our force by combining the capability and capacity of our partner nations with our own to secure the high ground. By “stacking” USAF and partner capacity within critical capability areas, we can collectively provide the dominant combat airpower we are accustomed to employing and showcase a force that keeps potential adversaries at bay.

The perennial challenge with respect to securing the high ground now and in the future is achieving the right mix between force capability, capacity, and readiness. Faced with decreasing resources and changing mission requirements, we must continue to prioritize those airpower functions most vital to national defense. Our Air Force leaders have identified the USAF’s unique and enduring contributions toward national defense as:

• Establish control in air, space, and cyberspace

• Hold any target at risk

• Provide responsive intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)

• Rapidly move people and cargo anywhere in the world

Enabling each of these unique contributions is the ability to:

• Provide command and control to conduct operations rapidly, effectively, and efficiently

The ability to sustain these enduring contributions, also known as the “4+1” construct, hinges on an immense contribution from ACC. A key mechanism for operationalizing the “4+1” construct and advancing ACC’s priorities is through the dual-role efforts and responsibilities of COMACC acting as a Core Function Lead Integrator.

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Improve operational effectiveness and increase integration of Air Force, Joint, Allied, and Coalition capabilities in advanced threat environments

An Airman demonstrates the construction of a water charge designed to disable an improvised explosive device to a member of the Dhi Qar Province explosive ordnance team.

An F-18 Super Hornet, an F-16 Fighting Falcon, an F-16 from the Royal Jordanian Air Force and a Mirage from the Pakistan Air Force fly in formation over Wadi Rum in Jordan. An EC-130H Compass Call aircraft flies over snow-covered hills during a training mission.





COMACC’S ROLE AS A CORE FUNCTION LEAD INTEGRATORThe Air Force Core Functions, assigned by the Secretary of Defense and recognized by the Joint community, provide a framework for balancing investments across USAF capabilities. The SecAF designated seven MAJCOM Commanders as Core Function Lead Integrators (CFLIs) and divided the 12 core functions among them. These assignments were deliberate and represent a plan in which stewardship of these critical functions is entrusted to the commander possessing unique expertise, organization, and capabilities. As one of seven CFLIs, COMACC is the lead integrator for five of the 12 Service Core Functions (SCFs).

COMACC is the CFLI for the following Air Force Core Functions:

• Command and Control (C2)

• Global Integrated Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (GIISR)

• Air Superiority (AS)

• Global Precision Attack (GPA)

• Personnel Recovery (PR)

These five SCFs fully support and are reinforced by the other seven Core Functions. When considered together, the 12 SCFs encompass the full range of Air Force capabilities. The other seven Air Force Core Functions and corresponding CFLIs are:

• Nuclear Deterrence Operations (NDO) – Air Force Global Strike Command

• Space Superiority (SS) – Air Force Space Command

• Cyberspace Superiority (CS) – Air Force Space Command

• Rapid Global Mobility (RGM) – Air Mobility Command

• Special Operations (SO) – Air Force Special Operations Command

• Building Partnerships (BP) – Air Education and Training Command

• Agile Combat Support (ACS) – Air Force Materiel Command

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CFLI Vision

CFLIs are SecAF and CSAF designated leaders who act as the principal integrators for their assigned SCFs. In collaboration with USAF-wide stakeholders, CFLIs establish a strategy for the long-term development and maturation of their SCFs through the annual submission of investment-related CFMPs, Program Objective Memorandums (POMs), requirements development, and S&T prioritization.

• VISION – Fully developed and balanced combat capabilities across the C2, GIISR, AS, GPA, and PR Core Functions.

When these five SCFs are integrated with the other seven SCFs, they provide a ready, agile, and deployable force with the capacity and capability to secure freedom of movement in air, space, and cyberspace to deliver Global Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global Power for our Nation across the entire range of military operations now and in the future.

CFLI Strategic Guidance

CFLI strategic guidance provides the vision and framework required to establish planning force proposals captured within the individual CFMPs and establishes priorities to most effectively organize, train, equip, and integrate USAF forces. The CFMPs are constructed to align USAF strategy, operating concepts, and capability development into a 20-year plan for the SCF. Once integrated, the 12 Air Force CFMPs will provide a clear and unambiguous linkage between Air Force planning, programming, requirements, and S&T processes, and ultimately posture the USAF to more effectively support US national security objectives in the near-, mid-, and far-terms. To achieve this outcome, the five Service Core Functions, for which COMACC is the lead integrator, should operate in accordance with the following guidance:

• Trade capacity for capability, if required, to develop a highly capable, ready, and operationally comprehensive force that can operate effectively and efficiently with our Service, Joint, and Coalition partners to resolve current conflicts, succeed in irregular warfare, prevail against a peer competitor, and deter emerging threats.

• Develop fiscally constrained planning, programming, requirements, and S&T options aligned along three main lines of effort:

1. Force Capability - Recapitalization & Modernization

• Continue research and development of 5th- and Next-Gencapabilities(fightersandbombers)enabledthroughgloballyintegratedISRandbattlemanagementcommandandcontrol(BMC2) – If the US desires to continue operating in areas that are becoming increasingly contested by our adversaries around the globe, the Air Force must continue to invest in capabilities critical to our future success. We will remain committed to the long-term success of the F-35 program and the advancement of associated 5th-Gen capabilities. Additionally, we must develop a long-term plan to collectively fund a specific and interdependent family of Next-Gen systems—to include a Long Range Strike Bomber, a Next-Gen fighter, and an advanced airborne electronic attack platform. In order to maintain assured access to critical strategic areas, we must continue to advance the timeline toward the point where the preponderance of force application and force enabling platforms have 5th- and Next-Gen capabilities. This includes a persistent and penetrating capability to conduct electronic attack as well as collect ISR data to enable timely combat effects chains and battlespace awareness in highly contested environments. A key component of developing Next-Gen capabilities is the continuous advancement of the S&T that underpins the capability. At times, we may not be able to afford incremental and continuous upgrades to our systems, but we must continue to always maintain a qualitative edge over our adversaries by pushing the boundaries of S&T in order to make greater leaps in capability when financial resources allow. Without the strategic vision and deliberate pursuit of a holistic set of game-changing capabilities and cross-cutting technologies that we know are required to operate in advanced threat environments, we risk conceding the ability to succeed in the future strategic environment—a default position with unacceptable and potentially devastating consequences to national security.

An F-35 Lightning II maneuvers during its first flight.





• Selectivelymodernizelegacyinventoriestoprevailinincreasinglycontestedenvironments – At the fundamental core of our national security strategy lies the Air Force mission to gain and maintain air, space, and cyberspace superiority. Our ability to secure control of the air provides the Joint force freedom from attack as well as freedom to attack. In addition to modernizing our air superiority capabilities, recapitalizing and modernizing our air-to-ground capabilities is essential to our continued ability to hold our enemies at risk. To preserve combat capability as the F-35 reaches its long-term, full-rate production levels, we will selectively modernize and increase the service life of our legacy fleet to mitigate future “fighter gap” challenges. In addition to modernizing our aging fighter fleet, modernization within our C2 and ISR systems is essential to ensure our forces retain the ability to gather and share information quickly and efficiently to complete effects chains and enable battlespace awareness. Underpinning all of our operations is the confidence in knowing that our PR forces are prepared to conduct rescue operations anywhere in the world, and we must sustain efforts to recapitalize and modernize their increasingly stressed assets.

• Enable4th-Gensupportof5th-Genthroughenhancedweapons,sensors,electronicattack,andconnectivity - As we continue to field 5th-Gen capabilities (such as F-22 and F-35), we must ensure that 4th- and 5th-Gen platforms remain interoperable and mutually supportive. Fundamentally, we must ensure that different generations of aircraft can continue to communicate effectively through advanced tactical data and communication links. Additionally, we must continue to improve the survivability and lethality of our platforms through the networked and collaborative use of advanced sensors and data-links to conduct electronic attack while completing effects chains with advanced weapons.

• Advancekeymunitionsandassociatedtargetingcapabilitiesandcapacitytoenableamorecapable,integratedforceinanadvancedthreatenvironment– Advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions are critical to ensuring continued US air superiority as well as the ability to persistently hold any target set at risk. We must continue to balance investment options across the entire effects chain—from find to assess across the find, fix, track, target, engage, and assess (F2T2EA) spectrum. Finding a target is often little value to the JFC if precise, tailored, and measurable effects cannot be created to support the operational objectives. Therefore, we must continue to advance the key munitions and targeting infrastructure that support

our recapitalization and modernization efforts at a commensurate rate and in sufficient quantities. As potential adversaries continue to produce and acquire capabilities that increase the level to which they can contest air, space, and cyberspace, we must ensure we retain the ability to create desired combat effects from significant stand-off ranges, in adverse weather and electromagnetically degraded environments, and against fixed, mobile, and moving time-sensitive targets.

• Pursue capability to operate effectively in a contested and/or degradedelectromagnetic (EM) spectrum environment – A significant part of the A2/AD capabilities and strategies proliferating around the globe involve a potential adversary’s ability to contest or degrade portions of the EM spectrum. Therefore, we must continue to pursue technological solutions that enable highly resilient, redundant, and robust communication and information sharing networks capable of supporting operations in any EM environment. Additionally, we must continue to develop technology and capabilities that will enhance our ability to control and exploit the EM spectrum—such as directed energy weapons. To support these efforts, we must continue to leverage our live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) training capabilities in order to identify doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, or facilities (DOTMLPF) solutions to address increasingly contested and degraded EM spectrum scenarios.

A small-diameter bomb guides toward its target. The small diameter bomb destroys its target.

Pilots evaluate the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter simulator.





“We will resist the temptation to sacrifice readiness in order to retain force structure, and will in fact rebuild readiness in areas that, by necessity, were deemphasized over the past decade.”

- Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense, January 2012

2. Force Capacity - Sustainment & Readiness

• Sustainwarfightingeffectivenesswhileincreasingefficiency – ACC will remain committed to supporting Air Force and Department of Defense efficiency efforts while continuing to invest in the required capabilities to ensure we can operate and prevail in any environment across the spectrum of conflict. Key examples of this concept include the efforts to rebalance the GIISR portfolio to enable persistent operations across the range of military operations as well as efforts within C2 to implement a distributed Air and Space Operations Center (AOC) enterprise. Continued efforts such as these will enable the reallocation of resources into the warfighting capabilities required to sustain our unmatched warfighting effectiveness.

• Enhance readiness by improving inventory sustainment and expanding training for realistic combat environments – Today’s strategic environment is filled with emerging threats and expanding capability requirements. Our Airmen require and possess a very diverse set of skills that enable them to operate across a wide spectrum of operations. Therefore, we must continue to focus on initiatives and investment opportunities to improve education, training, and inventory sustainment. Additionally, we will continue to enhance our LVC simulations and scenarios to provide the most realistic and representative threat environment to expand our operational training within contested and degraded environments. Through these efforts, we can continue to mitigate readiness challenges that lead to a tiered-ready force and compromise the USAF’s ability to immediately respond and deliver combat airpower.

• Championinnovativesolutionstodiminishrequirementsoflowsupply/highdemand(LS/HD)assets – Many of the USAF’s combat enablers, also known as LS/HD assets (e.g., E-3, E-8, Control and Reporting Centers, RC-135, EC-130, HH-60, HC-130, and Guardian Angels), have been operating with deploy-to-dwell ratios that are at or near unsustainable levels. While the Airmen within these career fields have performed their missions magnificently, remaining at these operations tempos have caused our fleets to age at accelerated and unanticipated rates that pose significant challenges to the long term viability of our LS/HD assets. Additionally, personnel within these career fields face an exhaustive deployment rotation lasting into the foreseeable future. Therefore, in addition to relying on our reserve component, we must find innovative and improvised ways to create efficiencies, to stack resources, and to enhance the collective capability, capacity, and effectiveness of our LS/HD assets.

• Consolidate installation footprint, sustaininfrastructure, and reduce operating costs – ACC installations and facilities enable dominant combat airpower projection and are the platforms from which our ACC professionals and their families train, work, and live. In today’s challenging fiscal environment, it is essential to consolidate infrastructure while sustaining facilities. Additionally, we must continue to seek opportunities to reduce operating costs. Energy efficiency initiatives and aggressive demolition and consolidation efforts present the opportunity to reduce our costs and focus scarce resources on the installation to ensure our Airmen and their families are provided the quality installations and facilities they deserve.

A B-1B Lancer F-101 turbofan engine is tested.

An E-3 Sentry flies over the National Training Center.

The crew of “Pedro 16,” 2009 Mackay Trophy winners, pose at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.





3. Force Composition - Total Force Enterprise (TFE) & Total Force Integration (TFI)

• Develop “right-mix” solutions across the DOTMLPF spectrum to address daily operational missions and associatedforcestructurechallengestoreducecostsandpreservestrategicdepth– In addition to improving our force through the continued research and development of 5th- and Next-Gen capabilities, we must also determine the appropriate balance of those capabilities among the Active, Reserve, and Guard forces. The realities of our current fiscal environment may demand Total Force solutions since we can no longer afford to retain the level of strategic reserve we have possessed in the past. These realities require that we continue to honestly balance the operational needs and accessibility of our force against the most cost effective and efficient Total Force solutions.

• ImproveTotalForceIntegrationby“right-sizing”associationsandcomponentmix – One of the USAF’s most impressive attributes is the synergistic strength derived from the combined contributions of the Active and Reserve components. We must continue to generate sufficient operational capability out of every unit—of every component—of the total force we retain. ACC will continue to lead in the implementation of critical Total Force Enterprise initiatives and programs designed to achieve a more balanced mix of roles, responsibilities, and assets across the Total Force that will continue to enhance our ability to provide dominant combat airpower for America.

• CoordinatewithotherCFLIandnon-CFLIorganizationstoprovidetransparencyandcreatesynergiesacrosstheprocessesencompassedundertheSCFconstruct– The essence of the service core function construct is the detailed and deliberate nurturing of individual functions that, when combined and integrated, produce holistic results and effects greater than the sum of their parts. With a firm understanding of the other service core functions, as well as the contributions of our Joint and Coalition partners—their strengths and weaknesses, capabilities and limitations, self-sufficiencies and dependencies—we can build a balanced, highly capable, and ready force able to meet America’s security needs now and in the future.

An F-15E Strike Eagle air refuels from a KC-135R Stratotanker during a mission over Afghanistan.





Our task is clear: provide warrior Airmen trained and ready to fly, fight, and win America’s wars when and where called upon to do so. The ability to provide dominant combat airpower underpins our Nation’s ability to pursue and protect its vital interests, and without it, other military options and instruments of power become less credible.

All of us—military and civilian—who have chosen to serve our Nation are bound by a unique bond; we are the protectors, the guardians of the precious flame of freedom. With our shared purpose, together we will build upon ACC’s magnificent record of achievement and excellence in underwriting America’s security and prosperity. We will continue making precise, disciplined, and deliberate choices that will enhance our ability to organize, train, equip, and be ready to support JFC requirements and national interests in any operational environment. Through our relentless pursuit of leadership, excellence, and partnerships in combat airpower, ACC will continue to develop and field the combat capability and capacity required to secure the high ground for America.

SUMMARY

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All of us—military and civilian—who have chosen to serve our Nation are bound by a unique bond; we are the

protectors, the guardians of the precious flame of freedom.

Airmen perform a demonstration of a dignified transfer aboard a C-17.









ACC Air Combat Command

ACS Agile Combat Support

AEF Air and Space Expeditionary Forces

AOC Air and Space Operations Center

AS Air Superiority

A2/AD Anti-Access and Area Denial

BP Building Partnerships

BPC Building Partner Capacity

BMC2 Battle Management Command and Control

CCDR Combatant Commander

CFLI Core Function Lead Integrator

CFMPs Core Function Master Plans

COMACC Commander Air Combat Command

CS Cyberspace Superiority

CSAF Chief of Staff of the Air Force

C2 Command and Control

DOTMLPF Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and Education, Personnel, or Facilities

EM Electromagnetic

F2T2EA Find, Fix, Track, Target, Engage, and Assess

Gen Generation

GIISR Global Integrated Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance

GPA Global Precision Attack

ISR Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance

JFC Joint Force Commander

LS/HD Low Supply/High Demand

LVC Live, Virtual, and Constructive

MAJCOM Major Command

NDO Nuclear Deterrence Operations

POM Program Objective Memorandum

PPBE Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution

PR Personnel Recovery

RAT Requirements, Acquisition, and Test

RGM Rapid Global Mobility

SCF Service Core Function

SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment

SecAF Secretary of the Air Force

SO Special Operations

SS Space Superiority

S&T Science and Technology

TFE Total Force Enterprise

TFI Total Force Integration

USAF United States Air Force

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ACRONYMS



seCURINg THe HIgH gROUND: DOMINANT COMBAT AIRpOWeR …€¦ · The purposeful development and care of our Airmen ... trained, and manned for optimum operational capability. Anything

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